


Never An Honest Word

by unsettled



Category: Body of Lies (2008)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-07
Updated: 2010-09-07
Packaged: 2017-10-11 13:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/112960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsettled/pseuds/unsettled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hani's mouth tightens, almost imperceptibly, but Marwan knows what to watch for after all these years. Hani's furious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never An Honest Word

Hani's mouth tightens, almost imperceptibly, but Marwan knows what to watch for after all these years. Hani's furious; in any other man, there would be smashed glass scattered about the rich carpets by now. Hani merely closes the folder with a careful precision that's subtly off. He says nothing.

Moments pass, and Marwan's just waiting for it, for the order Hani is about to give.

"I am not a fool for a pretty face, Marwan."

That– that was not what he expected. "No," he says. "No one could say that."

"And yet," Hani continues, "I can think of no other reason why I might be surprised by this. Why I might have actually _believed_ that Mr. Ferris's honesty was anything other than a lie. Why–" he catches himself; Marwan knows he is the only one who will ever hear Hani speak like this, but there are things Hani will not say, even to him.

When Hani has been lied to before, he becomes angry, or disappointed, or offended, even; takes pains to remind them just why no one ever lies to Hani Salaam and gets away with it, and why it is such a terrible idea in the first place, but never– there's never this undercurrent of hurt. Marwan finds that he wants to find Ferris and shake him like the insolent little puppy he is, for having found a way to wound Hani.

"Well," Hani says, fingers tapping silently on the desk before him, eyes on the incriminating papers. "Well. I suppose we'd best see what he has to say for himself." He looks up, meets Marwan's eyes. "Bring him to me."

*

He finds Ferris in the best of moods, carrying on with some female like he's no sense of propriety, like he hasn't a clue that his lies have come home to roost, and it infuriates him; makes him grab Ferris's arm a little tighter than he would have otherwise, shove him a little harder, and it's a relief to hide behind his orders not to answer any of Ferris's questions, not to speak to him at all.

The take a longer route, but there is a purpose – there is always a purpose – and Marwan can tell by the subtly different quality of silence in the car that Ferris has stopped breathing; that he is beginning to understand just how much trouble he is in. That he has caused.

The car stops and Ferris stumbles out of it, ungangly and panicked, not in any manner that Marwan's seen from him before, and– and sees the fire, sees their mark burning and _crumples_, barely saves himself from a complete collapse. This seems to be Marwan's night for surprises; it's not the last reaction he expected from Ferris, but it's very near. From behind, Ferris looks like a man who has just lost everything, and perhaps, to his mind, he has. When he turns, his face is blank with shock, a suspicious glimmer in his eyes.

Maybe … maybe he wasn't the one lying here.

Marwan is a little gentler in herding Ferris back in the car; if Ferris has any sense, he knows where they are headed next. Who they are headed to. Marwan watches Ferris, watches him breath unsteadily, watches him close his eyes and lean forward, bow his head over his tightly clasped hands, hanging over his knees, hiding his face. Murmur, almost under his breath, just once; "I didn't know."

Oddly enough, Marwan believes him.

Ferris jerk up as the car stops, his face briefly terrified, and then takes a breath. Stands, like he is going to his doom.

Marwan has a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, because he can measure the set of Hani's shoulders against the set of Ferris', and knows that Ferris has been played just as un-consentingly as Hani; knows also that Hani, for once, is quite beyond caring. No one is going to leave here satisfied. No one is going to get all the answers. No one is going to leave without some wound.

He listens to Ferris babble on, earnestly, doing his best to convince Hani of something that Hani doesn't want to hear – that Hani wants to hear too badly, and thus will not consider – and knows that Ferris is only digging his hole deeper and deeper. Hani plays with him, briefly, but his rage, his betrayal, is too overwhelming to maintain the illusion of manipulation for any length of time.

"Did you know?"

"No," Ferris says, just shy of whisper, desperate and knowing he won't be believed, and Marwan knows Hani hears it. There's not even a second before Hani responds. Hani had made his mind up the moment he saw the intel; there's nothing Ferris could have said to change it.

Hani orders him out of the country, and it's so different from the usual punishment, so much more petty and personal and _revealing_ – that Hani can't even stand to see Ferris again – Marwan nearly winces. Hani's letting himself react instead of plan for once, only it's in all the worst ways. He _would_ pick the worst time to loosen his control. Ferris sways; Marwan thinks he might go down, as he did when confronted with his word going up in flames. He doesn't, and that earns him no small measure of respect in Marwan's eyes.

Hani stalks past him, barely restrained fury in every stride, in every look and tightly bit-off word; Marwan follows, tells the driver to take them back to the palace.

"No," Hani says. "You go back. I'm going somewhere else."

Marwan says nothing, but he has to bite the inside of his cheek to hold his words in check. Hani, of course, notices. "You do not approve?" he says, his tone a warning. Marwan hesitates.

He knows it's far too early, knows Hani doesn't want to hear it, but he says it anyway. "He's been lied to as well."

Hani draws a sharp, angry breath. "I do not want to hear any more about _Mr. Ferris_," he snaps, the cool façade slipping, just shy of shattering. "I want to salvage whatever might be left of this disaster, only everything has gone up in smoke, Marwan, and I can see _nothing_. Do not tell me about his woes! You are going back to the palace to make yourself useful; I shall find my own way of accomplishing something of worth this night."

That's it, in the end; there's nothing Hani can do, and he's never taken to uncontrollable situations well. He's done what he can – sent the one person who might be of some use away, frayed his ties with the United States, handed out punishment to the wrong person, and that is sure to chaff at him more than anything else. Hani is going to do as he wills, and Marwan knows better than to try and stop him.

After all, he knows that come morning, he will find Hani slumped over his desk, the surface covered with files sorted into some strange system that draws connections no one else would see, bleary eyed and irritable and mind filled to overflowing with plots, running double time to create layers upon layers upon layers. He'll be back in the game, his edge hardened again, too sharp for comfort.

Marwan hopes – if he is right about Hani's reaction, if Hani maintains his relentless honesty with himself – that it won't be too long before Ferris is summoned back.

He has no doubt Ferris will come running.


End file.
